Folsom Lake is a big, low density fishery, so cover water fast. Cal Kellogg speed trolls Trigger Spoons and Speed Spoons run clean at 2.5 to 2.7 mph, working the top 25 feet in the cool months and 45 to 70 feet in summer. Both rainbows and kings eat pond smelt and threadfin shad, so run thin baitfish patterns. For kings, slow down over structure with a blade and a shad tube tipped with meat. Stay on the move for shots at trophy trout and kings.
How do you catch trout at Folsom Lake?
Cover water with fast, clean running spoons. A Speed Spoon or Trigger Spoon at 2.5 to 2.7 mph imitates the pond smelt and threadfin shad the trout eat. Less fish per cubic foot of water means you have to keep moving to put your bait in front of one.
How deep are Folsom trout and kings?
It changes with the season. In summer run 45 to 70 feet on downriggers and Dipsy divers, deeper is often better. By mid October raise up to the top 15 to 30 feet. In winter and spring the fish move shallower and up into the arms.
What is the best lure for Folsom Lake?
Spoons, because you control them fast and cover a lot of water. Clown, orange UV baitfish, and copper are strong colors. When the bait is small, a Pinhead Spoon doctored with pink and blue tape shines. Run all of them clean, not behind a dodger.
How do I catch king salmon at Folsom?
Fish structure more than bait. Troll deep along humps and drops, 50 to 70 feet, and slow down when you mark fish holding on the structure. A blade paired with a hoochie or a shad tube tipped with anchovy or mackerel strips is a slow troll combo Cal has run for over 20 years.
Where should I fish on Folsom Lake?
The main body. Work the tip of the peninsula and both its north and south sides, the mouths of the North and South Forks, the riprap between Browns Ravine and Folsom Point, and the riprap along the new spillway. Those areas hold bait and fish.
Why is Folsom Lake so tough to fish?
Three things. It has a low biomass, fewer trout and salmon per cubic foot than Shasta or Berryessa, so fewer bites. The water level fluctuates and creates current that reorients the fish. And there are clouds of bait, so the fish are rarely hungry.
When is the best time to fish Folsom?
The summer drawdown. When they drop the full lake about a foot a day, current in front of the dam scatters and confuses the bait, predators move in to feed, and the non game fish clear out. That gives three to four weeks of the year's best action on trout and kings.
What soft plastics and winter baits work at Folsom?
In spring, pull Trix Worms and Trix Minnows in the arms. In winter, when the water drops into the 50s, run a small blade or a Mini Willow Dodger with a threaded nightcrawler at slow speed.
Watch the technique
Fishing Folsom Lake for trout and king salmon FAQ
Pond smelt, which the trout and kings favor, and threadfin shad. Run thin, baitfish profile lures in smelt and shad patterns.
About 2.5 to 2.7 mph, sometimes faster. Speed trolling covers the water you need to cover on a low density lake.
Trophy rainbows reach 12 pounds, with wild fish to 31 inches, and kings can top 15 pounds in good years. The average fish is smaller, so the big ones are a reward for time on the water.
Many of the marks are pike minnows, channel catfish, carp, or bass, not trout or salmon. And when the trout are full of bait they simply will not bite.
The peninsula. Work both the north and south sides of the tip. It consistently holds bait, trout, and the occasional king.
Both. Cal runs two downriggers, stacks rods, and adds two Dipsy or deep divers to spread baits from 45 to 70 feet and cover the column.
Yes on rainbows, but often no better than spoons in summer. They are at their best up in the arms in spring, on Trix Worms and Trix Minnows.
Cal would not drive five hours for it, but for locals it is a good option with a real shot at a very large trout or king if you put in the time.
